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Reconstruction of Precipitation in Morocco Since 1100 A.D. Based on Cedrus Atlantica Tree-Ring Widths

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Claudine Till
Affiliation:
Université Catholique de Louvain, Laboratoire de Palynologie et de Dendrochronologie, Place Croix-du-Sud 4, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Joël Guiot
Affiliation:
Université d'Aix-Marseille III, Laboratoire de Botanique historique et Palynologie, CNRS UA 1152, Rue Henri Poincaré, F-13397 Marseille Cedex 13, France

Abstract

Annual (October through September) precipitation from 1100 A.D. to modern times is reconstructed for Morocco, using Cedrus atlantica (Endl.) Carrière tree-ring chronologies. Both multiple regression on principal components and the bootstrap method are use to calibrate tree-ring width with precipitation; precipitation variation is reconstructed for three climatically distinct areas: the humid, subhumid, and arid regions of Morocco. A series of successive wet and dry periods is identified for the past 1000 years; the maximum length of the 13 dry periods (during which precipitation was at least 1σ below normal) is 6 years. Twenty-one years are identified during which precipitation fell more than 2σ below normal. We are unable to identify significant correspondence in climatic variation in Morocco, Europe, and the Sahel during this time period.

Type
Articles
Copyright
University of Washington

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